Method of and apparatus for glean



May 14, 1935 F. B. HUNTER 2,000,956

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR CLEANING, STERILIZING, AND SMOOTHING BEACHES Filed OC.. 19, 1931 drh): uw

Patented May 14, 1935 METHOD oF AND APPARATUS Foa CLEAN- ING, STERILIZIN G,

BEACHES AND SMOOTHING Frank B. Hunter, Indianapolis, Ind.

Application October 19, 1931, Serial No. 569,683

13 Claims.

The present application relates to a method of and means for cleaning, smoothing, and sterilizing bodies of comminuted material, such as sand beaches, and the like. y The primary object of the invention is to provide a method oi.' and apparatus for accomplishing these results with respect to the sand beach illustratedand described as an adjunct of the recreation pool disclosed and claimed in my co-pending application, Ser. No;

458,133, illed May 31, 1930. Further objects of the invention will appear as the description proceeds.

To the accomplishment oi' the above and related objects, my invention may be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawing.,

attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawing is illustrative only, and that change may be made in the specic construction illustrated and described, or in the specific steps stated, so long as the scope o! the appended claims is not violated.

Fig. 1 is a plan view of an installation in accordance with the present invention; and Fig. 2 is a fragmental section, taken substantially on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, and on an enlarged scale. l

In addition to the diiliculties always experienced with sand beaches provided in connection with public swimming pools, and mentioned in my above-identiied application, operators of such installationsv have found that the problems of re moving trash, such as waste paper, cigarette, and cigar stubs, bits of food, and the like, from such beaches; smoothing and tamping the beach; and maintaining the beach in a relatively sterile condition are not only difficult of solution, but involve considerable expense if the problems are solved in anything like a satisfactory manner. The installation herein disclosed and claimed solves all of these problems, and does s o in a very inexpensive manner.

'I'he recreational installation is indicated generally at I0, and comprises a pool |I surrounded by a walk I2 which, in turn, is surrounded by the sand beach I3. 'I'he beach I3 comprises a basin I4 of concrete or other substantially waterproof material, the basin consisting of a bottom wall |5, an upstanding outer bounding wall I6 and an upstanding inner bounding wall I1. It will be obvious that the wall I'I, together with the walk I2 and the curb I8 separating the walk from the pool II may be considered as a single bounding wall.

'Ihe normal water level in the pool is indicated by. the reference numeral 3|, and it will be seen that the wan le and the wail n teripnf, at levels below such normal water level, the walk I2 sloping slightly, and joining the curb 'Il substantially at said level 3|. 'I'he wallA fIB is formed at its outer edge with an upwardf'extension I9 5 projecting to a level substantially that of the kcurb I8; and an overflow gutter. 20 is formed in the wall I6 immediately adjacent the extension Il.

At a plurality of spaced points about the basin I4, there are provided sumps 2| below said basin. l0 A mass of sand, indicated by the reference numeral 22, is filled into the basin I4 to a lcvel 23 materially below the normal water level 3|. The bottom wall I5 of the basin I4 is formed with a plurality of apertures 24, each providing com- 15 munication between the basin and one of the sumps 2|. As will be obvious, each of the apertures 24 has a radial length materially less than the length of the corresponding sump 2|, and a baille 25 is provided, depending from the bottom zo I5 of the basin and projecting downwardly into the sump 2| but terminating short of the bottom of said sump. As is clearly shown in Fig. 2, the sand mass tends to run in under the bale 25 and to cover the iioor of the sump 2|, whereby 25 the sand mass, in cooperation with the bottom I5 of the basin I4 and with the baille 25, forms a chamber 26, unlled by the sand.

A conduit 2'I communicates at its one end with the body of Water in the pool and a valve 28 30 of any desired construction is positioned to control flow of liquid through said conduit. An operating handle 29 is illustrated projecting upwardly through the curb I8, but it will beobvious that any suitable operating means for the valve 35 28 may be provided. In the illustrated embodiment, the conduit 2'| communicateswith the pool adjacent the periphery of said pool and at a shallow portion thereof, but it will be obvious that the conduit 2'I may communicate with the pool 40 at any desired point.

The conduit 2l communicates, as at 30, with the sump 2|, thus putting the sump 2|, and consequently the basin I4, into communication with the pool I I, such communication being controlled 45 by the valve 28. An outlet conduit 32, to which is preferably connected a suction pump, communicates with the chamber 26 within the sump 2|.

After a days operation of the recreational i`n- 50 stallation, and after the installation has been closed to the public for the night, the valve 2l may be opened to permit 'the chlorinated water in the pool to-ow to and into the sump 2|. The water supply mechanism for the pool is op- 54;

erated to maintain the normal water level 3| substantially unchanged, so that the chlorinated water from the pool will permeate the sand mass 22, and a body of chlorinated water will be built up in the basin I4. Flotsam on the surface of the sand mass will, of course, be lifted by the A body of water, and the water will flood, at least to some extent, the walk I2, sweeping therefrom bits of undesirable material. 'I'he water level is raised sufficiently to permit a surface overflow into the gutter 20, and the level is maintained long enough to permit this overflow to entrain and carry away all bits, of ilotsam. The gutter 20 may be connected to a sewer, or may be connected to return the overflowing liquid to the water purifying system of the installation.

. After the lotsam has been removed, the valve 28 is closed and the suction pump connected to the conduit 32 is put into operation. Because of the specific gravity of the sand particles, the chamber 26 will be substantially free of sand, but will, of course, be filled with water. As the water is removed by the pump from the chamber 26, the water standing in the basin and in the sump is drawn downwardly through the sand mass 22 around the baille 25 into the chamber 26, and so is withdrawn through the conduit 32. The sand mass will, of course, be somewhat dispersed in the body of liquid within the basin, and as the liquid body is withdrawn, a nice, smooth, compact surface is formed on the sand mass. Particles of material of greater specific gravity than the sand will, in general, be moved downwardly through the mass and away from the surface of the sand.

Because of the fact that chlorinated water from' the pool Il is used for flushing the sand mass, the sand mass is automatically sterilized during the cleaning and smoothing process above described.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination with a sand beach laid on a substantially waterproof base, of means for introducing liquid to said beach at a point below the surface of the sand, and means for withdrawing said liquid from said beach from a point below the surface of the sand.

2. The combination with a sand beach laid on a substantially waterproof base, of means for cleaning and smoothing the beach comprising, a liquid inlet communicating with the body of sand at a point below the surface thereof, a curb upstanding above the surface of the sand and provided with an overflow gutter, means for supplying liquid through said inlet to overflow said curb, and a liquid outlet communicating with the body of sand below the surface thereof.

3. In combination, a pool, a trough surrounding said pool and substantially lled with sand, a conduit providing communication between said pool and said trough and opening into said trough at a point below the level of sand therein, and a conduit communicating with said trough at a point below the level of sand therein for withdrawing liquid from said trough.

4. In combination, a pool, a trough surrounding said pool and substantially lled with sand, the level of sand in said trough being below the normal water level in said pool, a conduit providing communication between said pool and said trough and opening into said trough at a point below the level of sand therein, and a conduit communicating with said trough at a point below the level of sand therein for withdrawing liquid from said trough.

5. In combination, a pool, a trough surrounding said pool and substantially fil-led with sand, the outer perimetral wall of said trough extending above the level of sand in said trough, but terminating below the normal water level in said pool, a conduit providing communication between said pool and said trough and opening into said trough ata point below'the level of sand therein, and a conduit communicating with said trough at a point below the level of sand therein for withdrawing liquid from said trough.

6. A device of the class described comprising a basin having a. bottom and upstanding side walls, a sump beneath said basin, said basin bottom being apertured to aiord direct communication between said basin and a part of said sump, a baille depending from said basin bottom and projecting downwardly into said sump but terminating short of the bottom of said sump, comminuted material filling said basin to a level below the upper ends of said side walls and partially iling said sump, such material defining, with said basin wall and said bathe, a chamber within said sump unfilled by such material, a liquid lnlet opening into said surnp, and a liquid outlet opening from said chamber.

7. A device of the class described comprising a basin having a bottom and upstanding side walls, the upper end of one of said walls being lower than the upper end of another of said walls, a sump beneath said basin, said basin bottom being apertured to afford direct communication between said basin and a part of said sump, a baille depending from said basin bottom and projecting downwardly into said sump but terminating short of the bottom of said sump, comminuted material filling said basin to a level below the upper ends of said side walls and partially lling said sump, such material defining, with said basin wall and said baille, a chamber within said sump unfilled by such material, a liquid inlet opening into said sump, a source of liquid supply connected to said inlet and adapted to supply liquid to said basin to overflow said onel wall, and a liquid outlet opening from said chamber.

8. The method of sterilizing a mass of comminuted material which comprises the steps of passing a sterilizing fluid upwardly through such mass, and then passing such fluid downwardly through such mass and withdrawing the uid.

9. The method of sterilizing a mass of comminuted material which comprises the steps of passing a sterilizing uid upwardly through such mass to build up a body of fluid upon the surface of such mass and permeating such mass, permitting such fluid body to stand for a period, and then withdrawing such fluid body downwardly through such mass.

10. 'I'he method of cleaning, smoothing, and sterilizing a mass of comminuted material which comprises the steps of supplying a sterilizing liquid to such mass at a point below the level of such mass, building up a body of liquid, from such supply, to a level above the surface of said mass, and thereafter withdrawing such liquid at a point below the surface of said mass.

11. The method of cleaning, smoothing, and sterilizing a mass of comminuted material which comprises the steps of supplying a sterilizing liquid to such mass at a point below the level of such mass, building up a body of liquid, from such supply, to a level above the surface of said mass, whereby flotsam is lifted from the surface of said mass, permitting a surface overflow of such liquid to carry away such flotsam, while maintaining sucn supply, and thereafter withdrawing such liquid at a point below the surface of said mass.

12. 'I'he method of cleaning, smoothing, and sterilizing a sand beach adjacent a pool of chlorinated water which comprises the steps of maintaining a liquid level in said pool above the sand level of said beach, establishing communication between said pool and a point within the mass of sand below the s'urface of such sand, whereby a body of chlorinated water is built up on said beach substantially to the level of liquid in said pool, cutting off such communication, and thereafter withdrawing such water from said beach at a point below the surface of the sand mass.

13. 'Ihe method of cleaning, smoothing, and

sterilizing a sand beach adjacent a pool of chlorinated water which comprises the steps of maintaining a liquid level in said pool above the sand level of said beach and above the level of a bounding wall of said beach, vestablishing communication between said pool and a point within the mass of sand below the surface of such sand, whereby a body of chlorinated water is built up on said beach substantially to the level of liquid in said pool and whereby otsam lifted from said mass is entrained and carried away with the surface overow over said bounding wall, cutting oil' such communication, and thereafter withdrawing such water from said beach at a point below the surface of the sand mass.

- FRANK B. HUNTER. 

